Horseshoe



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J. GURTIN. HORSESHOE.

No. 427,976. Patented Ma 13, 1890.

(No Model.) 2 snets-sheet 2.

J. CURTIN. 'HORSBSHOE.

Patented May 13, 1890.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN CURTIN, OF ELK FALLS, KANSAS.

HORSESHOE.

$PECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent NO. 427,976, dated May 13,1890.

Application filed July 2'7, 1889! Serial No. 318,862. (No morleL) To allwhom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, JOHN CURTIN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Elk Falls, in the county of Elk and State of Kansas, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Sectional Horseshoes;and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will en able others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to certain novel improvements in horseshoes ofthe class composed of two or more pieces or sections, and it is animprovement 011 Letters Patent granted to me on the 6th day of December,1887; and the invention consists in the novel construction andarrangement of the toe-pieces used in combination with the side piecesor bars, all as will be hereinafter fully explained, and pointed out inthe appended claim.

The annexed drawings, to which reference is made, fully illustrate myinvention, in which- Figure 1 represents a top View of my shoe, showingone side bar removed. Fig. 2 is a bottom view, Figs. 3 and 4 are faceviews of the plates. Fig. 5 is a detail section taken on line 00 00,Fig. 1; and Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on line y y, Fig. 1.

Referring by letter to the accompanying drawings, A designates ahorseshoe constructed in sections, consisting'of three parts or sectionsa, b, and c, of which the parts a and b are the side bars having theholes for the insertion of the nails whereby the shoe is held to thehoof of an animal. The toe portion or intermediate section consists oftwo halves, v

being an upper half (I, having nail-perforations, as shown, and slots 66, adapted to receive the lugs f f on the upper face of the lower plate.This upperhalf of the toe-section is also provided with the toe-clip fand two dowuwardly-projecting lugs or bearings g g at the outer ends ofsaid plate, and the said bearings engage perforations h 71 in the end ofeach side section of the shoe, as well as engaging similar perforationst'e', formed in the outer ends of the lower plate, as clearly shown inthe annexed drawings.

The inner faces of each section or half d and d are cut away, as at j j,leaving a semicircular shoulder 7e, to receive the semicircular end i Zof the side sections, which are loosely hinged to the toe-section,forming a pivotal bearing for the side sections, thus permitting theshoe to be contracted or expanded to suit the size of a hoof, and theshoe when so constructed expands with the expansion of the animals foot,and by such expansion the shoe-nails are relieved of all strain, andsaid shoe will or can be adjusted to any size or shaped foot by aninexperienced person. It will thus be seen thatI provide an intermediateor toe section to the shoe, which is in two parts that are removable,the same being locked together by the projecting lugs and retained tothe hoof by the nails passing through them, while the pivotal bearingson the joints form a strong connection for the parts, and the toe-platecan be repaired or replaced by another when worn without removing theshoe from the hoof.

The lower half of the toe-section, as well as the heel of the sidesection, can be provided with calks, if desired, or the shoe canbepartly calked, and the toe-section is adapted to any size or shape ofside sections. It will be furthcr observed that in connecting thesections to one another the eye on the side sections is placed over theraised bearings or lugs on the upper toe-plate, after which the undertoe-' plate is placed in position, thus locking the parts together. Theperforations in the toepiece are designed to receive nails similar tothose driven in the side sections and into the hoof for securing theshoe thereto, and it will be seen that the lower-plate is provided withprojecting lugs, and that the upper plate has slots, and when the lowerplate is in position the lugs are up into the slots and serve to keepthe two plates in proper position and prevent lateral strain on theraised bearings to which the side sections of the shoe are pivoted, anda shoe constructed as herein described is durable, cheap to manufacture,as well as being easy to the foot of a horse, as it permits the hoof tohave its natural growth, and the toe-plate on the under side of theintermediate section, that receives the most wear, can be readily andquickly repaired or replaced by another similar plate without the personremoving the shoe from the foot of the animal, thus providing ahorseshoe which can be easily applied to the hoof and quickly repairedwhen worn.

The forward nail-perforations a in the side bars are elongated, and bysuch construction these holes are caused to register with the outerperforations of the lower toe-plate whet-her in a cont raeted orexpanded position. Finally, it will be seen that in applying the shoe tothe foot the same is placed thereon at contraction or partialcontraction, so that it will expand with the expansion of the hoof, andin driving the nails that go through the oblong nail holes or slots asaid. nails are driven until their heads are Iirmly embedded in thelower toe-plate, the upper'end of the nail being; firmly fastened in thehoof, leaving the nail free from contact with the bar where said nailpasses through said oblong holes (K, thus providing free expansion forthe side bars without touching said nail, and in construeting myhorseshoe it is riveted together before fastening it to the hoof, andthe pieces can be readily titted to the foot, as the parts will he madeof dil't'erent sizes, large and small, to tit diltferent-sized hoofs,and when placed together they are ready to be nailed on the hoof.

'hat I claim is- In a threepart horseshoe, the eon'ibination, with theside sections provided with the semicircular perforated ends, oblongperforations, and cut away, as shown, of the plates composing theintermediate section, the upper plate having the bearing-lugs,shouldered semicircular ends, slots 0, and nail-holes, the lower plateprovided with the lugs f and shouldered semicircular cutaway ends, andhaving the nail perforations, the whole adapted to operate as and forthe purpose set forth.

In testimony' whereof .lallix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN ULTRTIN.

\Vitnesses:

J. L. Drummer, T. E. RrrcHAnns.

